St. Louis, MO, Aug. 4, 2008 – LaBarge, Inc. has received a $3.2 million contract from Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company, to continue to produce electronic assemblies for the H-1 Upgrade Program for helicopters used by the U.S. Marine Corps.

The H-1 Upgrade Program is expected to provide much-needed modernization for the Marine Corps’ aging helicopter fleet. This program currently calls for 280 upgraded utility or attack aircraft - 100 UH-1Ys and 180 AH-1Zs. 

LaBarge expects to produce the box-level electronic assemblies at its Huntsville, Ark., facility beginning in January 2009 and continuing through July 2010. The company has supported the H-1 Upgrade Program since 2004.